Pokemon 10 ----- (Story 6, in 5 parts)
by Squeakgator
Summary: Finally in town! Adventure awaits!


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Pokemon 10

#6 "Nemesis" Part 1: The Phos Corporation

Setting: On the outskirts of Saffron City, near the Saffron Pokemon Center, at about 6:30 p.m. Finally, after spending such a long time traveling through the forests of Route 6, our four young heroes, Aster Starlite, Bulbasaur, Kellaya Starlite, and Anya Fever, have arrived to a major city, and civilization. And in perfect timing too, since a recent battle with an angry Pinsir has left them injured and tired. But the experience has made them wiser, and brought them all closer together. 

Well...maybe closer together is a little overstating it! ;) 

The four of them walked into town. 

ANYA: (arguing)...and THAT'S why you shouldn't keep weak Pokemon! 

ASTER: (arguing) No way! I think all Pokemon are useful and should be given a chance, not just discarded! 

ANYA: But if you just hold on to those weaklings, you'll keep losing battles and never become a Pokemon master! 

KELLAYA: (tired) Stop fighting. 

ASTER: If you work hard on your Pokemon, they can become really strong and become powerful! 

ANYA: The whole point of Pokemon training is to use your Pokemon to catch stronger Pokemon! So then, you can use THOSE Pokemon to catch even stronger Pokemon! You're supposed to replace the weak with the strong! That's what Pokemon training is all about! If you raise your Pokemon well, that's OK, but that's only part of it! 

ASTER: You're telling me to replace my favorite Pokemon because I've captured better ones?! No way! I don't want to replace any of my friends! 

KELLAYA: (tired) Please stop fighting. 

ANYA: Pokemon weren't meant to be your friends! They're your minions, tools, and weapons! 

ASTER: THEY'RE YOUR FRIENDS!! 

ANYA: WEAPONS!! 

ASTER: FRIENDS!!! 

ANYA: WEAPONS!!! 

Suddenly, a low flying Pidgeot collided right into Aster's head and knocked him to the ground. 

ANYA: SEE? WEAPONS! 

KELLAYA: (tired) FINALLY! You two stopped fighting. 

ASTER: (getting up with a hurt head) WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?! 

A woman with long, reddish hair came running towards them with a Pokeball, pointing it at the Pidgeot. 

WOMAN: PIDEOT, RETURN! (a beam of light extended from the Pokeball, grabbed onto Pidgeot, and pulled him into the ball. After he was safely returned, the woman turned to Aster) I'm really sorry Pidgeot troubled you! He isn't usually like that, but today, his wing healed after being broken for so long and he really wanted to fly after being cooped in that little bed. 

ANYA: Oh, so you're a trainer? 

WOMAN: Oh no! I don't have time to go around collecting badges. I have too much responsibility at the Pokemon Center. You see, I'm the doctor there. 

Aster took a good look at the woman and recognized her. 

KELLAYA: (tired) Oh. You're from the Pokemon Center? Could you tell us were it is, maybe, somehow? I'm really sleepy. 

WOMAN: Sure! I was going back to work there anyway. Oh, I never told you my name, did I? I'm Doctor... 

ASTER: (interrupting) JOY! DOCTOR JOY! 

WOMAN/JOY: Um...do I know you? 

ASTER: Sure! Don't you remember? You helped my Bulbasaur in Vermilion City! (then it occurred to him) But...why are you...in...Saffron?... 

JOY: OHHHHH! You must've met my sister! Her name is also Joy, and she's also a Pokemon doctor! She lives in Vermilion City, and I live in Saffron! AND WE BOTH LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME! 

The kids were weirded out by this completely identical (and kinda freaky) Doctor Joy. 

ASTER: Oh........kay. 

(Note from Squeakgator: OH NO! THE RETURN OF THE REPETATIVE SISTERS! :) ) 

New setting: In the Pokemon Center of Saffron City, at about 8:00 p.m. Aster and Anya were happy and relaxed to finally be resting on a sofa instead of a sleeping bag in the middle of the woods. As they waited for their Pokemon to re-heal, they took a look at Kellaya, who embarrassingly sprawled herself out all over the sofa, taking up almost half of it as she slept with her mouth hanging wide open, looking ridiculous. Aster and Anya didn't mind though. After all, she's only 8 years old. 

All of a sudden, the back doors leading to the medical rooms opened, and Bulbasaur happily ran to aster. 

ASTER: BULBASAUR!! 

BULBASAUR: A-SAUR!! 

(Note from Squeakgator: 'A-Saur' is how Bulbasaur pronounces Aster's name. It's kind of clever. {) ) 

The two of them hugged. 

ASTER: Felling better buddy? It must feel great re-healing at a Pokemon Center. 

BULBASAUR: Bulba. Bulba-saur. 

At about that same time, a large crowd gathered on the plaza just outside of the Pokemon Center, causing a lot of noise. Bulbasaur became intrigued by the noise, and went to check it out. 

ASTER: HEY...WAIT! BULBASAUR! 

ANYA: Let him go, Aster. He rarely gets to be on his own. Don't worry, you know he'll come back. 

ASTER: (a little depressed) Yeah, I guess you're right. 

JOY: (from out of no-where) He may be back sooner than you think. 

Aster and Anya turned to see Doctor Joy show up behind them.

JOY: That crowd is there to see the unveiling of a brand new Pokemon product from Phos Co. The crowds can get pretty thick, so you'll never get close enough to see the new product. Your Bulbasaur might just get pushed out of the crowd. 

ANYA: A new product from what? 

JOY: From Phos Co. 

Aster and Anya don't understand. 

JOY: You mean you've never heard of the Phos Corporation? Well, it's the latest moneymaking Pokemon Corporation. They own the really big building in the middle of the city. 

ASTER: Big building in the middle of the city? What big building in the middle of the city? 

Doctor Joy pointed out the window. When Aster and Anya looked out, they saw a tall, humongous building in the distance standing completely vertically, shooting straight up high into the air. You couldn't really tell it was a building. It almost looked like a giant black pillar, since all parts of the building, walls, windows, doors, were completely pitch black. So black that all that looked upon it couldn't see anything going on inside, but could only see the sheer reflective darkness of the sides, and could only feel the coldness from its drab exterior. And as Aster tried to look to the top of the building, he soon realized that the building was so incredibly tall that the top hid itself in the clouds. If you didn't know buildings had roofs, you'd think this tower went on forever.

ASTER: (shocked; feeling kind of small compared to the building) Oh. THAT big building in the middle of the city. 

ANYA: Well, DUUUH!!! What did you think, that it could be one of the OTHER big buildings tall enough to reach the sky?! 

ASTER: But...there aren't any other... 

ANYA: (interrupting) EXACTLY DOOFUS!!! Don't you remember seeing this thing when we came into town? 

ASTER: Oh...yeah. Now I remember. 

ANYA: (turning to Joy) Well, anyway, we never heard of this company before. And you say it's a new corporation making Pokemon products? Doesn't Silph Co. make all the Pokemon products? 

JOY: Well, they used to, and they still do, but... Phos Co. is starting to take away all the customers. If they're not careful, Silph Co. could go out of business. 

ASTER: But, doesn't Silph make all the equipment used in Pokemon Centers also? 

JOY: They do, but Phos Co. claim they make far superior equipment. Faster computers, better health care, advanced Pokeball transport systems that care for your Pokemon while they travel; the list goes on and on! 

ANYA: So why don't you start using Phos equipment? 

JOY: It's too expensive! The Phos Corporation knows more people want to buy their products, so they raise their prices. To astronomical levels! They're way too expensive and Pokemon Centers really can't afford them! But if we don't buy them soon, less people will want to come to our centers and we'll be...forced to close down. 

ANYA: That's horrible! What will happen if there's no Pokemon Center? 

JOY: (angrily) Phos Co. will probably build one of its own Pokemon Centers in Saffron! 

ASTER: (surprised) Phos Co. also builds Pokemon Centers?! 

JOY: (angrily) And those Centers charge you for service! They're monopolizers! 

ASTER: If this corporation is so great, how come we haven't even heard of it yet? 

JOY: (getting depressed again) Probably because it's very new. Remember Giovanni? 

ANYA: (thinking) Um...yeah. Wasn't he that guy who got arrested a few years back for being the leader of a major crime ring, Team...something. 

JOY: Well, when he went to jail, the police shut down his crime empire and collected all of his money. But no one could agree where the money should go to, so it started moving from place to place, hand to hand, and somehow it got in the hands of a man named Steven Phos. He took all those millions and billions, and started the Phos Empire. Now, he's probably one of the richest men in the world...but everyone else has to suffer his high prices and horrible product reliability. 

VOICE: (from out of no-where) I'm insulted by that remark! My Pokemon products are only the finest this world has ever seen! 

Aster, Anya, and Doctor Joy turned to the door to see a tall, dark figure standing there. 

Pokemon 10

#6 "Nemesis" Part 2: CTM

Setting: Just outside of the Pokemon Center of Saffron City, amongst a huge crowd, at about 8:10 p.m. Bulbasaur was on the outside of the tightly packed crowd, trying to force his way in, to see what all the commotion's about. Finally, after minutes of struggling, Bulbasaur managed to squeeze his way into the dense crowd. Unfortunately, someone else trying to force his way to the front unintentionally threw Bulbasaur back out, flinging him to the ground. After getting up, Bulbasaur decided to give it another shot. With a determined blast of hope, he ran right into the crowd and forced his way in. And then...he got thrown out again. After landing and getting up again, Bulbasaur became absolutely enraged. He yelled out a triumphant "BULBAAA!!!" as he charged the crowd. WITH A MIGHTY LEAP, HE FULLY FORCED HIS WAY RIGHT INTO THE CROWD...and got thrown out again. For the next few minutes, the pattern repeated. 

New Setting: Back in the waiting room of the Pokemon Center of Saffron City, at about 8:10 p.m. Aster, Anya, and Doctor Joy were surprised that someone has been listening in to their entire conversation about Silph's new competitor, the Phos Corporation. Then they watched as the man walked out of the shadows and revealed himself. He was a tall, dark-blond man, who looked like an important businessman in his expensive suit. Aster noticed that Doctor Joy huffed and gazed away from him upon seeing his face. She clearly didn't like him. 

JOY: (coldly) Nice to see you again, Mr. Phos. 

ASTER & ANYA: (simutainiously) PHOS?!! 

PHOS: That's right! You've been talking about me for the past few minutes I believe. Allow me to properly introduce myself; I am Steven Phos. 

JOY: (coldly) Do you have a reason for being here, Mr. Phos, or were you going to stand by the door all night letting in bacteria?

PHOS: (sarcastically) Charming; to the last. 

ANYA: You're the one who got Giovanni's money all those years ago and started producing Pokemon products? 

PHOS: Guilty as charged. And, as I've said just a moment ago, in response to Ms. Joy's comments, my products are the finest you'll find anywhere in the world. My products are not only new and innovative, but also state of the art. Unlike the flimsy sort of products you might find from some of my competition. 

JOY: (angry) You mean Silph. The good people you've been running out of business. 

PHOS: You said it, I didn't. I'm not going to name names. I have much friendly competition.

ASTER: (trying to stop the argument that could erupt) What sort of Pokemon products does your corporation produce anyway, Mr. Phos? 

JOY: (coldly) Yes, I've heard so much about your products that aren't compatible with anything else, forcing customers to buy more of your products. 

PHOS: Ha ha! A rumor started by jealous scientists. My Pokemon medicine heals Pokemon faster and fills them with energy! The food we design for enhancing a Pokemon's abilities works quicker and better! And just now, we've recently released the new CTM's, that could revolutionize Pokemon training as we know it! I introduced the CTM's to that rather large crowd out there, but then it started getting, shall I say, a bit rambunctious, so I decided to come in her for a rest from all the commotion. 

ANYA: Uh....CTM's? What's that? 

PHOS: It stands for Compatibility enhanced Technical Machines. They work just like TM's, except they have an obvious advantage: any kind of ability or attack in a CTM can be taught to any kind of Pokemon, even if it's not off the same type. So you could even teach a fire attack to a grass Pokemon, or water attack to a fire type, for example. 

Aster and Anya jumped in shock at this news! They simply couldn't believe such a product was developed. Doctor Joy seemed reluctant to be amazed, and remained suspicious, uninvitingly showing no sign of impression at Phos' news. Dealing with tough customers was an important aspect of salesmanship, and Phos actually delighted at the thought of turning the Doctor to his side, even though this wasn't going to happen anytime soon. But seeing that the two kids became interested instantly, Phos reached into his pocket. 

ANYA: That's...absolutely amazing! 

JOY: Anya, don't believe him! It probably doesn't work! 

PHOS: (pulling a small device from his pocket. The device is a yellow and orange sphere with the letters 'CTM' printed on it) Oh, now don't be that way, Doctor. I'll even let our young friend here have a free sample of a CTM. 

ASTER: WOW! REALLY?! 

ANYA: HEY! HOW COME HE GETS THE FREE SAMPLE?! WHERE'S MY FREE SAMPLE?! 

PHOS: (ignoring Anya) Of course. I'm a generous man, as you'll soon learn. What's your name, young man?

ASTER: (still in amazed shock; then started thinking again)…uh…OH YEAH! I'm Aster. Aster Starlite!

PHOS: (suddenly horrifyingly shocked) S…star…lite? Starlite?

ASTER: Yeah!…is something wrong?

PHOS: (composed himself) Um, nothing, nothing! Anyway, to continue, this CTM teaches Thundershock, a good average electric attack. Now…young man, you have a rock Pokemon. Why don't you call it out and we'll give this thing a test run. Teaching him this CTM could greatly help defend it against water Pokemon, a rock Pokemon's greatest enemy. 

ASTER: (excited) SURE! (he pulled out his Pokeball) RAILSNAIL, COME OUT! 

The Pokeball opened and released an electrical energy data signal. When the signal materialized on Aster's palm, transforming into the adorable tiny rock Pokemon, Railsnail, Mr. Phos stared in amazement! 

RAILSNAIL: (wondering why he was released) Rail? 

Suddenly, Kellaya zipped by in the blink of an eye, grabbed Railsnail, and commenced in hugging him like there's no tomorrow. Aster, Anya, Doctor Joy, and Mr. Phos were not only surprised that Kellaya got Railsnail so fast, but that she was AWAKE! (and hyper ;) )

KELLAYA: (squeezing Railsnail) ALRIIIIIIIIGHT!!! RAILSNAIL'S HERE!!! I'M GONNA HUG HIM AND SQUEEZE HIM AND WE CAN PLAY ALL DAY!!! 

RAILSNAIL: (worried and confused) Rail? Snail?! 

ASTER: HEY, LET GO OF HIM! RAILSNAIL'S NOT A TOY!!! 

KELLAYA: That's right! He's my CUTE LITTLE BUDDY!!! (Squeezing harder) 

ASTER: (snatching away Railsnail) Give 'im back! We were just gonna teach him a new attack! 

ANYA: Kellaya, when did YOU wake up? 

KELLAYA: Just now, when I heard Railsnail's name. 

ANYA: (rolling her eyes, giggling slightly) Oh. 

Aster put Railsnail down on the ground in front of Mr. Phos, telling it that it was about to learn a new attack. Railsnail still didn't know what was going on, but Aster reassured it it would be ok, and that's all Railsnail needed from Aster. Phos, still amazed, stared at the Pokemon with his jaw dropped. 

PHOS: My God! I've never seen a Pokemon like this before! 

ASTER: Well, he's new. His name is Railsnail. 

ANYA: THAT'S NOT HIS NAME! (turning to Phos, smiling innocently) He's a new breed. He hasn't been officially named yet. So, anyway, where's my free sample? 

ASTER: It WILL be its name eventually! It's what he keeps saying! 

ANYA: We'll let a Pokemon researcher decide that! Right now, it doesn't have a name! So…where's my free sample pleeeease?

ASTER: (arguing) HIS NAME IS RAILSNAIL!! 

ANYA: (arguing) NO ITS NOT!! 

KELLAYA: (turning to Mr. Phos) You'd better get used to this. They're like this all the time. 

PHOS: (to Aster and Anya) Kids, kids! I'm sure you can settle your differences on your own! Please, let me just show you the power of a CTM. 

Aster and Anya stopped arguing as everyone watched Phos begin his experiment. He grabbed the yellow end of the sphere in one hand and the orange end in his other hand, pulling them apart into a pair of semi-circles. Bending down to Railsnail's level and holding one semi-circle by one side of Railsnail's head while holding the other semi-circle on the opposing side, Railsnail looked worried as a weird device was going to work on his head, but Aster just reassured him that everything would be ok, even though Aster himself didn't know what would happen. Phos was still holding a semi-circle by each side of Railsnail's head while adjusting buttons and signals. Then, he pressed a button on each half, let go of the CTM, and to everyone's surprise, the semi-circles begin floating in mid air! On their own! Then, a small hum began to play from the two halves of the CTM, and to everyone's surprise, the floating semi-circles shot off many small bolts of electricity that jumped from one semi-circle to the other...RIGHT THROUGH RAILSNAIL'S HEAD!!! Aster didn't know what was happening and became worried, even reaching forward to save his Pokemon. But Mr. Phos grabbed his arm, rather harshly, reassuring him that everything was ok, and that Railsnail couldn't feel a thing. In fact to stop the CTM process prematurely, Phos stated, would be disastrous to a Pokemon's brain. So, although it didn't seem right, Aster let the procedure continue. While during this whole time, Doctor Joy didn't know why she was allowing any of it in her hospital!

In a moment, the semi-circles stopped shooting little beams of electricity, and floated back to Phos' hands, where he reconnected the two sides to form the CTM into a sphere again. Railsnail opened his eyes, blinked a little, and looked around at everyone, wondering what just happened. 

RAILSNAIL: Railsnail? 

ASTER: So...did it work? 

KELLAYA: (grabbed Railsnail and giving him a big squeeze) Yeah, did it work on this CUTIE-PATOOTIE HERE?!! 

RAILSNAIL: (frustrated from all the constant hugs) Rail-SNAIL! 

At that moment, Railsnail released a huge Thundershock attack and electrocuted Kellaya (the same way Pikachu does to Ash on the show. :) 

KELLAYA: (being shocked) AiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAiAAAAAaaaaah!!! 

When he stopped, Kellaya was charred and blackened. 

KELLAYA: (in an electrocuted trance) Ok. I'll stop. (she fell over. Railsnail crawled over and licked her face to apologize for shocking her) 

ASTER: THAT WAS SO COOL!! 

ANYA: ASTER, THAT'S YOUR SISTER!! 

ASTER: WELL, NOT THAT PART!! THE PART WHERE RAILSNAIL LEARNED AN ELECTRIC ATTACK!! 

PHOS: Well, I'm glad to have satisfied another customer. If you want to purchase more CTM's, please drop by to any fine Phos shopping center. And don't forget to tell your friends. (he left) 

ANYA: HEY WAIT! WHERE'S MY FREE SAMPLE?! MAN, I GOTTA BUY ALL OF THOSE THINGS!! (she left) 

ASTER: Yeah, me too! 

JOY: No Aster, please don't! Don't buy products from him! You know its just all trinkets! It's junk! You're buying from the wrong company! 

Aster becomes silent for a moment. 

ASTER: I'm...I'm a Pokemon trainer. I have to. (a pause) I'm sorry Doctor. I'm.....sorry. 

He grabs onto Railsnail and left. Doctor Joy hung her head low, feeling like she failed. Maybe she should have told them everything she knew. Now it was too late. She really did fail.

Then she noticed Kellaya still on the floor, weak from the Thundershock. 

KELLAYA: Um…could you lend me a hand? 

New setting: On the streets of Saffron City, at about 10:00 p.m. Bulbasaur eventually gave up trying to get into that crowd earlier, and went for a walk around town. He's glad that he got to walk around the city and to relax for a while, see some exotic sites, experience a real city with real people. He hardly had a chance to see Vermilion City, where Aster lived at first, and even if he did, it was nowhere as near as big a city as this one. Yup, seeing this cities streets at night was pretty cool, but just not for him. Now he just wanted to go back to his best friend Aster. 

Then he heard a very suspicious noise. It sounded...almost like crying. 

Bulbasaur went to investigate. 

The crying noise led him to an alley beside an incredibly, unbelievably huge black skyscraper in the middle of Saffron. Bulbasaur found a ventilation shaft in the alley, and decided to go in, to find the source of the crying. The crying began to aggravate Bulbasaur, since his many years of experience in the forests East of Vermilion taught him many different skills, like differentiating sounds. And now, closer to the sound, he could tell, it wasn't a child. The crying was from an older person.

No…not a person. A Pokemon! A Squirtle to be exact.

Eventually, after crawling through the vent for a few minutes, he arrived at the other end...where he couldn't believe what he was seeing! 

Pokemon 10

#6 "Nemesis" Part 3: Bulbasaur's Turn To Shine

Setting: On the downtown streets of Saffron City, where many shops were still up and open for business, at about 10:30 p.m. Aster, Anya, and Kellaya walked around downtown, enjoying the sights, sounds and community, after buying new Pokemon merchandise. Even though Aster and Kellaya couldn't read each others minds, they both knew what the other was thinking, because it was the same thing they themselves were thinking: they could never face Doctor Joy the same way again. Aster and Kellaya were a little depressed, but still ok. Whilst Anya had just bought so many CTM's that she couldn't even see where she was going and could hardly keep her balance, as she stumbled down the road. Aster has kept quiet about her, until he just couldn't contain himself any longer. 

ASTER: Um...Anya...how many CTM's have been made? 

ANYA: About 250 different ones. Why? 

ASTER: And how many did you buy? 

ANYA: (thinks for a moment) I dunno. I just grabbed as many as I could and bought them. I tried to count them, but I lost count at about 700. 

ASTER: So you bought more than one of the same kind? 

ANYA: Yeah. 

A big pause. 

ASTER: WHY?! 

ANYA: (turning to her left, facing away from Aster) Hey, listen you, when... 

ASTER: Um...I'm over here. 

ANYA: (turning around to face Aster) Listen you, when I teach these attacks to all of my Pokemon, they'll be absolutely invincible! With every conceivable power a Pokemon can have, I'll have the worlds most powerful Pokemon!! NOTHING CAN STAND IN MY WAY!! NOTHING!!! HA HA HA!!! 

ASTER: Could you please stop talking like a super villain? 

ANYA: Oh, you're just jealous because I'll soon have Pokemon far superior to yours! 

ASTER: That's not true! Every Pokemon still has weaknesses! Having every possible power doesn't make your Pokemon invincible! 

ANYA: Man, you are such a stupid trainer. 

ASTER: WELL, AT LEAST I DON'T LOOK LIKE A MORRON HOLDING MY WEIGHT IN CTM'S SO I CAN'T SEE WHERE I'M GOING!!! 

ANYA: YEAH, WELL... 

As Aster and Anya continued to argue down the road, Kellaya took the time to talk to the Pokeball with Railsnail in it. She still remembered that shock she got (well, how could she forget? She was electrocuted), and realized just how Railsnail felt.

KELLAYA: I'm sorry I keep squeezing you too hard Railsnail. I always hug Tangela, and he really likes it, so I got used to it I guess. Tell you what; I'll promise not to squeeze you anymore if you forgive me. OK? 

A pause…

Railsnail in his Pokeball beeped forgivingly. 

KELLAYA: (hugging the Pokeball) Thanks cute buddy! You're the best! (she turned to Aster) But how did you get that machine that taught Railsnail the Thundershock? 

ASTER: (still arguing with Anya)…AND YOU'RE SHORT AND BLEACHY AND…(braking of from his argument with Anya) Huh? Oh, the Thundershock. Well, Mr. Phos gave me a free CTM to try on Railsnail. 

ANYA: (to herself) Didn't give ME a free sample, cheap jerk. 

KELLAYA: (shocked) You mean you just revealed to Mr. Phos that you had a rare and unusual Pokemon without thinking about it? 

ASTER: No, no. I'd never do that! He asked me to pull out...(thought for a moment and had a realization)...HEY! How'd he know I had a rock Pokemon? 

KELLAYA: What do you mean? 

ASTER: I never showed him any of my Pokemon, but somehow he knew I had a rock Pokemon! (to Anya) Remember? He just knew I had a rock Pokemon and asked me to pull it out! How'd he do that? 

ANYA: Yeah...yeah, I remember. Well...maybe it was all a coincidence. Maybe he just guessed you had a rock Pokemon. 

ASTER: Yeah. I guess that must be it.

KELLAYA: I don't know. Seems suspicious. 

The three of them continued down the road. 

New setting: In the air vents of the Phos Corporation building, thirty minutes earlier, at about 10:05 p.m. Bulbasaur arrived to the end of an air vent, which led to a basement, where he saw what he couldn't believe.

Pokemon, lots of them, of all different ages, sizes, and types. 

Being forced to work. 

Bulbasaur watched as numerous Charmanders, Charmeleons, Vulpixs, Flareons, and other fire Pokemon of all types, heated dozens of carbon rods with their flame attacks. And then, just as many numbers of Squirtles, Wartortles, Staryus, Starmies, Marrils, and a number of other water Pokemon firing water at the heated rods to make steam that turned huge turbines. Bulbasaur watched and ached inside as many grass Pokemon of all types, even other Bulbasaurs just like him, used their cutting techniques to slice linoleum, rubber, and other various thick materials. There were fighting Pokemon crushing pieces of metal into sheets. Electric Pokemon seemed to strain them selves, to create the power needed to run the heavier machinery. Ice Pokemon went around trying to keep the other Pokemon cool, even if their skills would hurt the other Pokemon. It seemed like they had no choice but to hurt the other Pokemon, or else a nearby guard would threaten him with some kind of pole. One Pokemon didn't have the strength to keep moving, and was beaten in front of everybody! At another end there was also an Eevee at the end of a treadmill, inspecting sheets of metal, who decided to stop watching the metal for a brief moment to take a break. That's when a man hit him with a whip from behind. 

MAN: GET BACK TO WORK!!! 

The injured Eevee got back to watching the treadmill, even though his back was clearly sore. Probably from previous whippings. But this Eevee didn't seem like the defiant type. He actually looked very timid and scared. And even if he had the guts to fight back, he couldn't. Bulbasaur could see much more clearly now: the Eevee was chained at the neck. Actually, a lot of smaller Pokemon where chained that way. 

There were still others; psychic Pokemon using their powers to lift heavy objects to other points in the room. Flying and floating Pokemon where carrying the things that the psychic Pokemon didn't get to yet, even if it was clearly to heavy for them. Some of the birds worked with casts on their wings. They looked tired. In fact, all the Pokemon looked tired, pushed to the limit, ready to just give up on life! To put it in short terms, these Pokemon were being forced to work in a sweatshop. 

Then, Bulbasaur noticed that one of the other Bulbasaur's fell over on its back. Two of the human overseers ran over to him and checked him. 

MAN 1: He's dead. Over-exhaustion. 

MAN 2: What do we do with it? 

MAN 1: Let's take him to extraction. 

Extraction?

Bulbasaur watched from his hiding place as the men took the other Bulbasaur and placed him on a treadmill on the other side of the room. The treadmill pulled him into a machine, an awful looking machine, with metal claws and loose wiring everywhere. It looked old and rusty, and probably wasn't fit for whatever use it had, but yet the men still put a Pokemon in it? How could it help? 

The Bulbasaur slid inside, and a blast of red light escaped from the machine, as a blood-curdling screech rang out. It was a screech much to high for any Bulbasaur to scream…unless he could scream nothing else! The screech only lasted for a moment, less than a second, before stopping in dead silence. It almost seemed like it was forcibly silenced. Then, lots of grinding, cutting, and zapping could be heard for almost a whole minute, until it stopped. One of the men went over to the computer attached to the machine while the other man followed him. 

MAN 2: How did it go? 

MAN 1: Perfect! He was a strong one! The energy signal we absorbed from this one could easily fill 40 or even 50 grass CTM's. 

MAN 2: What do we do with the body? 

MAN 1: Send it to the butcher. It could provide some nutrients in the Poke-food. 

MAN 2: (almost to himself) Pity. 

MAN 1: Why do you say that? 

MAN 2: I always liked Bulbasaurs. 

The two of them walked away laughing. Bulbasaur couldn't contain himself anymore. He knew exactly what happened, what he SAW happen, and began to cry. All this horror and senseless murder, was too much for him. He didn't understand any of it. Why? Why did this place even exist?

Suddenly, the scientists in the room ran to a door, where a man just walked in. 

SCIENTST 1: BOSS! 

Bulbasaur's sadness then turned to absolute rage, as he looked to see who was in charge of all this. 

It was Steven Phos. 

SCIENTIST 1: BOSS! How did you like the detector we made for you today?

PHOS: (pulling a remote control out of his pocket angrily) This thing?! (he threw it down on the ground, smashing it into a million pieces) IT'S WORTHLESS TRASH!!! 

SCIENTIST 2: B-b-boss? 

PHOS: (angrily) All it does is tell me what type of Pokemon a person is carrying in his Pokeball's!!! But I tried it on some little twerp today, and it couldn't even tell me what kind of Pokemon it was exactly!!! 

SCIENTIST 3: (worried) Well, it wasn't designed to... 

PHOS: HE HAD A NEW BREED OF POKEMON!!! 

The three scientists looked surprised. 

SCIENTIST 1: A...new...breed? 

PHOS: And thanks to your toy, I didn't even know it!!! WE COULD HAVE PLANNED TO TAKE IT FROM HIM!!! 

SCIENTIST 1: Boss? 

PHOS: YOU'RE FIRED!!! 

Suddenly, two big security guards grabbed scientist 1 and dragged him, kicking and screaming, into a back room. 

SCIENTIST 2: Where are they taking him?! 

PHOS: He's being relieved. Permanently. (turned to the elevator) Follow me. 

Then, Bulbasaur opened the entrance to his air vent and followed the three men into the elevator. Even though he saw so much, it still wasn't enough to go on. He had to know more. He had to know just why all this was happening. And who that man was! Using his small size to his advantage, they didn't notice him hiding under their feet as the elevator doors closed. They all waited...and waited...and waited! The elevator trip was very long. When the elevator doors opened, Phos and the scientists entered, while Bulbasaur quickly hid behind a fern just outside the elevator doors. Bulbasaur looked at his surroundings: it was just one room, circular shaped, which appeared to be a large office. The ceiling had a sunroof, and you could see the night sky above, which told Bulbasaur that he was surely on the top floor. Also, to Bulbasaur's surprise, there where no real walls! The one circular wall was made of glass except at the one point where the elevator came up. Bulbasaur looked out the glass wall, and was surprised to see the clouds below him, with the City and all its natural surroundings below the clouds! Everything was so high! Usually, when one is this high, everybody looks like little ants, and the cars just look like little toys. But Bulbasaur was to high to even see those people! He wondered: was he in space? 

Phos had his back to the scientists as they talked. 

PHOS: How are the CTM's? 

SCIENTIST 2: Doing great sir! 

PHOS: (surprised) Doing great?! 

SCIENTIST 2: Well...I meant...they're doing what they're supposed to do. 

SCIENTIST 3: Yes sir. The CTM's don't actually teach the Pokemon anything, and simply alter the Pokemon's DNA temporarily; long enough for the trainer to use his Pokemon's "enhanced powers" in a battle, before the DNA corrects itself and the Pokemon can't use his power anymore, forcing the trainer to purchase more CTM's. 

PHOS: Good. (a pause) I need you two to organize a special team of security men to find three kids. 

SCIENTIST 2: Three kids? 

PHOS: A boy and two girls. One of the girls is about two years younger than the boy and other girl, who are both Pokemon trainers. 

Suddenly, Bulbasaur perked up! He knew who Phos was talking about! Aster, Anya, and Kellaya! 

PHOS: (continuing) The security team must focus especially on that boy…(drifted off in thought)…the boy. Aster. He's a Starlite? He must be; he looks so much like Danny…(realized the scientists where staring at him the whole time, so he came back to his scenes)…uh…ahem. The boy has a new breed of rock Pokemon. We have to steal it, for research. It doesn't look very strong at first, but then again, neither does a Magikarp. 

SCIENTIST 3: What if the kids interfere? 

PHOS: We can't risk being revealed. Kill them. 

BULBASAUR: BULBAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! 

PHOS: (surprised) What the heck? 

Bulbasaur leaped out from his hiding place and ran to the elevator doors. Whit his vine whips, he struggled to get the doors open just partially enough to squeeze through. He grabbed onto the elevator cords, sliding down at top speed. It was such a long slide, he couldn't even see the bottom of the elevator shaft for minutes on end! Suddenly, an alarm with flashing red lights could be heard from all over, alerting everyone to his presence. Fortunately, by that time, he quickly reached floor 1. He darted past security, and out the door. He had to find Aster. Quickly!

New setting: Back to where the kids were walking, at about 10:31, when they finished their conversation. Bulbasaur ran up to Aster. 

ASTER: Hey, there you are pal! Where have you been?! 

Bulbasaur worriedly tried to tell Aster about everything. Unfortunately, none of the kids understood (they weren't very fluent in 'Bulbasaur'. ;) ), so he motioned for the kids to follow him. 

Pokemon 10

#6 "Nemesis" Part 4: The Weapon

Setting: In an alley beside the humongous Phos Corporation building in the middle of Saffron City, at about 10:45 p.m. Bulbasaur had just led Aster, Anya, and Kellaya to an air vent on the side of the building. Bulbasaur had been very sketchy on the details, so the kids still didn't know what they were coming here for. And once Bulbasaur told them to follow him down the vents, Kellaya seemed reluctant to be breaking into a corporate building. But even though Aster doesn't know what Bulbasaur was trying to show him, he would always trust his best friend, and followed him down, pulling Kellaya close behind. Also, Anya crawled into the airshaft for her own intentions, while trying to make sure she didn't lose any of the hundreds of CTM's she bought earlier that day. (Note from Squeakgator: SHE'S STILL CARRYING THEM?!!! Don't you think she should have put them down by now? ;) ) 

Eventually they reached the end of the shaft. The air vents were just wide enough so Bulbasaur, Aster and Kellaya could see what was happening, while Anya was forced to stay a few feet behind with her collection of CTM's. 

KELLAYA: Alright Bulbasaur, we're here finally, now what's all this about...(then she saw all the Pokemon in their forced labor)...oh my gosh. 

ASTER: (shocked and horrified) What...is this? 

The siblings and Bulbasaur could only watch as so many Pokemon worked them selves to the bone; working so hard they could barely stand up on their own. Many looked injured, and desperately needed medical attention. Some even begged for it! 

Unfortunately, it didn't look like they'd be getting that help anytime soon. The human workers there make sure the Pokemon stayed in their place. 

ANYA: (behind a wall of CTM's) What do you see? What? What? What is it? What? 

KELLAYA: These Pokemon...they're being forced to work. (beginning to sob as her heart saddened) They're hurt! 

ASTER: (sad and disgusted) It's a Pokemon sweatshop. (he saw two of the workers conversing, so he started eavesdropping) 

ANYA: WHAT? I can't believe it! Why would Phos co. do that if they make enough money with the CTM's? 

ASTER: Actually, I've been listening to the conversations of those two security workers over there and...I don't think the CTM's really work. 

ANYA: (suddenly enraged) WHAT?!!! WE'VE BEEN ROBBED?!!! 

KELLAYA: Look at these Pokemon. They're hurt. 

One of the Squirtle's stopped spraying water on the heated carbon rods for a moment to take a rest. A security guard noticed the Squirtle who stopped working and pulled out his whip. 

ANYA: (growing angrier by the second) I can't believe I've just been hustled! 

GUARD: GET BACK TO WORK!!! (wiping the Squirtle full force) 

That's when the kids couldn't take it anymore. They dove out of the air vent. 

ASTER, KELLAYA & BULBASAUR: (simutainiously) AAAAAAAAAAAH!!! 

GUARDS: What the heck?!!! 

ANYA: (falling out last) THIS CRIMINAL OPPERATION OF YOURS IS OVER!!! 

ASTER: (pulling out a Pokeball, he enlarged it, and threw) GO HITMONCHAN!!! 

ANYA: (dropped her CTM's and pulled out three Pokeball's, enlarging them) CHARMANDER, PIDGEY, RATICADE, GO!!! 

KELLAYA: (pulled out a Pokeball, enlarged it and threw) TANGELA, HELP THEM!!! 

ASTER: COME ON, BULBASAUR, LET'S GO!!! 

BULBASAUR: BULBAAAAAAA!!! 

All their Pokemon came out and instantly began to fight. Charmander and Hitmonchan took care of the security, using flame attacks and Comet Punches to drive the unsuspecting security away. Raticade ran from room to room, informing all the Pokemon that there was a revolution going on and that they were all free. As all the Pokemon began escaping and causing a mess, destroying everything in their path, Pidgey helped direct them to the way out and made sure no one tried to stop them. Meanwhile, Bulbasaur found the Extractor Device. Knowing full well what it could do, as the memories of what it was used just an hour earlier, to mutilate another dead Bulbasaur, came seeping back in, he gathered all his might, and Bulbasaur destroyed the machine with one powerful tackle. He was glad he did it. 

At that time, more security guards with Pokemon of their own arrived on the scene. They saw the three kids ordering their Pokemon, so they pulled out their own. 

GUARD 1: ARBOK, ATTACK!!! 

GUARD 2: ATTACK GRIMER!!! 

GUARD 3: GET 'EM ELECTABUZZ!!! 

Arbock, Grimer, and Electabuzz materialized out of their Pokeballs, charging at the kids. Fortunately, Tangela appeared in front of them, heading full force. 

TANGELA: TANG-LAAAAAAA!!!!! 

In a shocking fight scene, Tangela came at Arbock with a jump kick, knocking him out of the air. He then used his Constrict attack on Grimer and held him in place for only a brief second, which was all he needed to Vine Whip Electabuzz. The Electabuzz couldn't get a clear shot through Tangelas arsenal of small, quick vines! Unfortunately, Arbok wasn't hurt by that jump kick and managed to swing around with another attack ready, and all teeth bared! Also, Grimer managed to ooze his way out of Tangela's clutches, and was ready to attack again! So Tangela got an idea. Quickly, he grabbed hold of the confused and slightly weakened Electabuzz with his vines and, with all his might, threw him right into the mouth of the on-coming Arbok. Arbok, shocked by this sudden attack, unknowingly bit deep into Electabuzz with his fangs. This brought the Electrabuzz so much pain, he released a powerful Thundershock attack that not only got Arbok right in the mouth, but also accidentally shocked Grimer, who was nearby, into submission. The three of them fell down, defeated. 

Tangela landed on the ground, facing the Security Guards, threatening them with a determined look. The Security Guards cowered, not knowing what to do next. 

New Setting: On the top floor of the Phos Co. building, at about 10:50 p.m. Phos was there, working on some papers. Suddenly the light on his intercom went on. Annoyed that he had to stop working, he angrily answered. 

PHOS: (into the intercom) Yes, what is it? 

INTERCOM: (guard) SIR!!! SIR!!! EMERGENCY!!! SOMEONE'S BREAKING IN!!! THEY'VE LET ALL THE POKEMON ESCAPE!!! THEY'VE BROKEN THROUGH ALL THE LINES OF SECURITY!!! THEY...OH NO!!! (suddenly, a new voice came on) TANG-LAAAAAAAA!!! (some fighting is heard before the intercom goes off) 

PHOS: Report? REPORT! (he furiously stood up from his desk and walked over to a keypad beside the elevator) Simpletons!! Must I do everything around here?!! 

Phos typed in a quick numerical password into the keypad. Once he finished, a piece of the carpeted floor slid open and lifted up in the middle of the room. It seemed that a secret stone post was hidden under the floor of the office. A second sliding door, a much smaller slit on the stone post itself, opened to reveal...a Pokeball. 

PHOS: Time for you to go to work, Blot. 

New Setting: Back at the basement of the Phos building. Tangala battled hard; now that Charmander and Hitmonchan needed a break, Tangela was the only Pokemon left that still had the will to fight with all his power. There were no enemy Pokemon left, only human guards. They violently fired their guns at him, so in a quick and apparently excruciating move, Tangela released as many vines as he could without revealing himself. There seemed to be hundreds of vines in the air, as Tangela had made himself seem thinner. No bullets hit him, but some came so close, they grazed him severely enough to bleed him. Only a few wounds, but Kellaya saw it was enough to make Tangela whimper with each cut, and topple downward just a little.

She cried, begging him to stop, but Tangela knew Charmander and Hitmonchan weren't ready yet, so he had to finish the job! With his last bit of power, he got up on his feet and eyed the guards horrifically, crying out a loud "TAAAAAAANG!". The guards were so surprised, some couldn't move, while some managed to compose themselves enough to reload. But to no avail, since Tangala threw all his vines at the guards, picking them of the floor in an instant, and bashed them up against the wall. Despite the sheer force of Tangela's violent attack, none of the guards where badly injured, and limped away as quickly as they could in terror. Tangela stood victorious…but then his eyes seemed glazed, and started to go to his knees. When he fell on the floor, Kellaya rushed over to him. 

KELLAYA: TANGELA!!!! (kneeling down beside him) Are you ok?!!! Speak to me!!! You'll be ok, right!!! 

Aster and Anya just rushed into the area. 

ASTER: Are all the Pokemon free?!! 

ANYA: Free as they'll ever be! Let's hope they can make it to the forests before someone catches them. (then Anya notices Kellaya and Tangela) Oh my God! What happened?! 

KELLAYA: (crying) Tangela stopped those bad guys! He saved everybody! But now he's hurt! 

ANYA: Don't cry. (angry that Kellaya was sad) I'll show them who messes with our Pokemon! (she pulled out one of her Pokeballs and enlarged it) GO TENTACRUEL!!! 

The Pokeball opened and released an energy signal that materialized into the seven foot Tentacruel. 

ANYA: TENTACRUEL, USE YOUR TENTACLES TO WHIP EVERYTHING!!! SHOW NO MERCY!!! 

Just like Anya said, and with Anya's same attitude, Tentacruel spun around in quick circles, his tentacles colliding with every piece of machinery in sight. All the treadmills, steam presses, inventory devices, extractors, and other various devices, began exploding as Tentacruel's powerful tentacles smashed everything. There were explosions everywhere, as the walls began to split and huge fires covered the whole basement. Loud explosions where followed by flying debris and hurling fireballs, destroying everything else in the room with huge waves of explosions, and scaring of any remaining security guards. 

ANYA: TENTACRUEL, STOP AND RETURN!!! 

Tentacruel stopped spinning and transformed back into an energy signal as he re-entered his Pokeball. Kellaya wisely decided to order Tangela back into his Pokeball, where he'd be safe for the time being. The three kids got up from the ground and where reunited with the Pokemon which helped them to set the other Pokemon free; Bulbasaur, Hitmonchan, Charmander, Pidgey, and Raticade. They all looked around at the area, which just moments ago was a place of horror. Where Pokemon where forced to work for the machines that killed them. Now, it was a wasteland of huge fires burning the whole room leaving debris and ashes everywhere. The machines wouldn't hurt the Pokemon anymore, now that the Pokemon destroyed their murderers. The place still looked scary, but now, somehow, less so. Now they knew it was a place where Pokemon wouldn't be hurt again. They felt overjoyed. 

Suddenly, a figure entered from behind one of the flames. 

VOICE: You little runts. Look what you did to this place. So much profit to be made. And you DESTROYED ALL OF IT!!! 

ASTER: Phos! 

The dark figure passed through a flame to reveal himself as Steven Phos. 

ASTER: This operation of yours is over Phos! The Pokemon you've been exploiting... 

PHOS: (suddenly VERY mad) OH SHUT UP!!! JUST SHUT UP!!! 

ASTER: Uh...what I say? 

PHOS: I AM SO TIRED OF HEARING YOU DAMN POKEMON RIGHTS ACTIVISTS COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW POKEMON SHOULD BE TREATED!!! IT'S ALWAYS "THEY SHOULD BE YOUR FRIENDS" OR "YOU SHOULD LOVE YOUR POKEMON"!!! WHEN WILL THE WORLD REALISE THAT POKEMON ARE JUST LIKE MACHINES!!! TOOLS, TO BE USED TO YOUR ADVANTAGE FOR PROFIT AND GAIN, AND THEN TO BE REPLACED WITH THE NEWEST MODELS!!! I'VE ALWAYS SUSPECTED DOCTOR JOY TO BE ONE OF THOSE DAMNABLE ACTIVISTS, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D HIRE YOU TO SMASH UP MY SWEATSHOP!!! 

ASTER: (to himself) So Doctor Joy was right about Phos! And…we just…ignored her. 

PHOS: NOW YOU DESTROYED THE FACTORY WHERE WE MADE MY MOST PROFITABLE PRODUCTION MODEL EVER!!! PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TO BUY CTM'S CONSTANTLY SINCE THEY NEVER WORKED!!! I COULD HAVE GONE FROM BILLIONAIRE TO TRILLIONAIRE!!! 

ANYA: THEY DON'T WORK?!!! THAT'S IT PAL, I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!! 

…moment of stunned or annoyed silence (and a couple of eyes bulged out to :) )…

ASTER: WHAT?!!! YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR MONEY NOW?!!! 

ANYA: THOSE CTM'S COST ME HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS!!! I WANT IT BACK!!! 

ASTER: (angry and annoyed) ANYA, WE'RE KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING HERE!!! 

KELLAYA: (annoyed that they're arguing again) Stop fighting. 

ANYA: (turned to Aster) YEAH, I KNOW, BUT WE RESCUED ALL THE POKEMON NOW, SO WE HAVE NEW PROBLEMS TO WORRY ABOUT!!! LIKE THE MONEY HE SCAMMED ME OUT OF!!! 

ASTER: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE SELFISHLY WORRYING ABOUT YOURSELF AT A TIME LIKE THIS!!! JUST FORGET THE MONEY!!! 

KELLAYA: (annoyed) Please stop fighting. 

ANYA: IT'S NOT SELFISHNESS!!! IT'S RESOURCFULLNESS!!! 

ASTER: IT'S SELFISHNESS!!! 

ANYA: RESOURCFULLNESS!!! 

KELLAYA: Oh please, just stop fighting. 

ASTER: SELFISHNESS!!! 

ANYA: RESOURCFULLNESS!!! 

Phos, Bulbasaur, Hitmonchan, Raticade, Pidgey, and Charmander couldn't believe that these two were arguing at a time like this. (Note from Squeakgator: Typical of them, isn't it :) ) Phos grew angrier and angrier while the two fought, until he finally snapped! 

ASTER: SELFISHNESS!!! 

ANYA: RESOURCEFULLNESS!!! 

PHOS: AND YOU TWO POKEMON ACTIVISTS ARE THE WORST OF THEM AND MOST ANNOYING OF THEM ALL!!! (he pulled a Pokeball out of his pocket and enlarged it) well, no more! (threw it) GO BLOT!!! 

The Pokeball landed on the ground opening, and the force of the blast even seemed like an explosion, as it blew wind at the kids, and released its energy signal, which transformed into a Pokemon. It was a pitch-black ball, floating in the air, about 50 cm. in diameter (about the size of a large beach ball). With no recognizable features, it was just a dark black sphere. It took Aster's breath away as he saw it. The last time he saw one of these was at a Pokemon street fight in Vermilion City. Both he and Anya pulled out their Pokedex' and pointed them at the thing. 

JEEVES & DEXATRON: (simutainiously) Blot. Male. Level 40. Type, Poison, with other normal, fighting, psychic, and flying abilities. This Pokemon is able to alter its shape to its advantage in order to win battles. Its strong psychic abilities and lethal poison powers make it a dangerous attacker, but it has been known to show weakness to electricity. Scientists believe that it might have something to do with an electrons chaotic movement, since shock waves hurt the Blot as well. Although no Pokemon can be scientifically classified as 'good' or 'evil', the Blot's deadly powers and frightening appearance make it popular among thugs and criminals, making it stereotypically known as an 'evil' Pokemon. 

ASTER & ANYA: (simutainiously) Evil?! 

PHOS: BLOT, TAKE OUT THOSE GIRLS!! LEAVE THE BOY!! HE HAS A RARE POKEMON I NEED!! 

Blot came at Anya with a powerful tackle. Anya was to busy studying Blot on her Dexatron that she didn't even notice her attacker. Before she knew it, blot tackled her right in the gut, sending her flying across the room, until she landed on a 20-foot tall piece of machinery that hasn't been destroyed yet. (Note from Squeakgator: Gee, what a coincidence it hadn't exploded yet, eh? ;) )

ASTER: (worried for Anya) ANYA!!! ARE YOU OK?!!! 

ANYA: (dizzy, but still getting up) Y...yeah. OK. I'm ok! Don't worry about me! Just protect Kellaya! 

Aster quickly dashed in front of Kellaya, keeping her behind him. 

PHOS: Be smart kid!!! Give me the snail, and I'll let you all go!!! 

ASTER: Trust you? (pulling Pokeball from his belt) Not this time Phos! 

With the basement ravaged in huge fires, Aster prepared to fight Blot. 

Pokemon 10

#6 "Nemesis" Part 5: The Bowls of Hell

Setting: In the basement of the Phos Corporation building in the middle of Saffron City, at about 11:00 p.m. What was a sweatshop about a half-hour ago, is now a room filled with raging fires. Machinery was in pieces all over the floor, and loose wiring hanged dangerously from the ceiling, spitting active sparks. Anya was, coincidentally, standing near some of the loose wiring, as she stood on top of a large piece of machinery where she was knocked on top of after being hit by a Blot. Below, Kellaya crouched down, looking for a safe way to escape the raging fires. Aster covered her, as he mentally prepared to battle with Phos's blot. Surrounding the two kids were Bulbasaur, Hitmonchan, Charmander, Pidgey, and Raticade, who helped rescue the captive Pokemon earlier. Aster turned to his Hitmonchan. 

ASTER: Hitmonchan, I can't ask you to fight against that thing. It has psychic powers. But Bulbasaur is in no condition to fight. I need your help, so it's entirely up to you. 

Hitmonchan was surprised his owner wouldn't force him to battle. After thinking, he decided to fight. He owed him for that kindness. Aster was relieved. 

ASTER: Thanks buddy! Now GO OUT THERE AND USE YOUR AGILITY. 

With that, Hitmonchan ran out into the battle area, heading right for Blot, boxing gloves ready. He started running in quick zigzags to build up his Agility. 

Phos knew the attack. He was prepared. 

PHOS: BLOT, USE A KARATE CHOP! 

ASTER: HITMONCHAN, DUCK AND FIRE PUNCH! 

To everyone's surprise, a piece of Blot's round black body stretched out like an amoebae and formed into the shape of an arm, giving a powerful Karate Chop! But Hitmonchan must've knew what a Blot was like, for he ducked in the nick of time, and came back up with a powerful Fire Punch Uppercut! Unfortunately, the Blot was pushed back, but other than that, relatively ok. 

ASTER: (shocked) WHA?!! 

ANYA: No, NO! 

PHOS: Blot's body is like a jelly. Fire won't hurt it! BLOT, NIGHTSHADE! 

Blot suddenly pulled his "arm" back into his sphere form. Then, his whole body flattened and stretched out in all directions, like a huge blanket covering the air. He covered everything Hitmonchan was looking at, and all he saw was the blackness of blot. The blackness confused him, and that was all Blot needed to extend another black 'arm' and grab onto Hitmonchan's face, crushing it and sucking out his power. In a moment, he let go and Hitmonchan passed out. 

PHOS: HOW STUPID OF YOU TO USE A FIGHTER! THE NIGHTSHADE ATTACK EASILY DEFEATED HIM! 

ASTER: (pointing Hitmonchan's Pokeball at him) HITMONCHAN, RETURN! (Hitmonchan transformed into an electric energy data signal, and was absorbed into the Pokeball) Hmm…vibrations, vibrations…I got it! (Aster reached down to his belt and pulled out another one, throwing it) GO MAGIKARP! (Magikarp materialized on the playing field) 

ANYA & KELLAYA: (simutainiously) MAGIKARP?!! 

PHOS: That stupid thing? HOW PATHETIC CAN YOU GET?! BLOT, CRUSH HIM! 

Blot slimed his body around Magikarp and pulled him into himself. 

ASTER: MAGIKARP, SPLASH! 

Magikarp heard him, and started to Splash around inside of Blot. Although Splash doesn't really do anything, the vibrations inside of Blot were too much for him to handle, hurting him. So he dropped Magikarp back to the ground. 

ASTER: HA HA! I NEW HE WOULD BE GREAT AT SOMETHING! Thank God Jeeves was informative.

ANYA: I guess the little pocket butler came to some use.

ASTER: STOP CALLING HIM A…Oh never mind. This isn't the time.

PHOS: (angry) YOU THINK YOU PROVED SOMETHING WITH THAT ATTACK?!! THINK AGAIN!! BLOT, TAKE 'EM OUT!! 

Blot immediately formed an appendage in the shape of a hammer, and smashed it down on Magikarp, creating visible cracks in his exo-skeleton, before knocking him out of the way, defeated. 

BULBASAUR: (angry that blot was so ruthless) BULBA!! BULBA-SAUUUR!!!

PHOS: SHUT UP YOU TWERP!!! 

Feeling his master's rage, Blot shot a powerful beam of Sludge right at Bulbasaur. Aster, with lightning quick reflexes, took a metal beam lying around (a light one, apparently ;) ) and deflected it back at Blot, as he took it into himself. Ragefully, Aster held the beam like a jousting lance, and charging Blot stabbed him right through…with no results. Blot was very much like Jelly, and took hold of the metal beam as Aster tried to wrestle it out of him. Blot swung leftward with ease and sent Aster flying against the big piece of machinery Anya was standing on, and almost sent her falling to the ground. If she hadn't grabbed onto the loose wiring near her, she would have!

Bulbasaur became furious at the Blot for attacking Aster, and despite his weak state, charged the Blot. But then, Blot's skin rippled, as he hurled the metal beam out of him like a cannon ball, bashing Bulbasaur and knocking him uncontious. Aster grabbed him, worried. 

ASTER: BULBASAUR!! BULBASAUR, ARE YOU OK?!!! 

ANYA: Well, the next time you plan to knock into the thing I'm standing on and send me crashing to the ground, could you NOT DO THAT?!!! JERK?!!! DUMMY?!!! WATCH IT NEXT TIME!!! (self-complimentary) Well, looks like it's all up to me. Gosh, it's so hard to be the heroine. PIDGEY, RATICADE, ATTACK TOGETHER!! (she pulled out a Pokeball and pointed it at Charmander) CHARMANDER, RETURN. IF FIRE ATTACKS WON'T HURT THAT THING, THEN YOU'RE OF USELESS! 

Charmander felt hurt by that comment, but obediently returned to his Pokeball. Raticade and Pidgey charged at Blot, but he knocked one away with a fist, and grabbed the other one in an oozing black hold, throwing him back. He's so powerful that both Pidgey and Raticade fell to the ground, defeated, after one shot! 

ANYA: OH NO!!! (she pulled out their individual Pokeball's and called them back) 

KELLAYA: I know that Tangela's too hurt to fight, but maybe...(she pulls out another Pokeball and threw it) GO ODDISH!!! 

Aster & Anya were surprised to see her use her Oddish (from story #5) against this brute. 

KELLAYA: ODDISH, USE YOUR...um... 

It just occurred to Kellaya that she didn't have a clue what attacks Oddish could do. 

ODDISH: Oddish? 

KELLAYA:...um... 

ASTER: (checking Jeeves) It's at level 19, so try stun spore. 

KELLAYA:...uh, sure. STUN SPORE! 

ODDISH: ODDIIIISH!! 

Oddish shot powerful webs at Blot that stopped him in mid air. Before he could react, Blot was frozen and couldn't move. 

KELLAYA: ALRIGHT!! I DID IT!! 

(Note from Squeakgator: Even though, technically, she couldn't have done any of that without Aster's help. :) ) 

KELLAYA: THERE! A DOOR! I THINK I SEE A DOOR! 

ASTER: THEN HEAD FOR IT! GET OUT OF HERE! AND TAKE BULBASAUR TO! HE NEEDS MEDICINE! 

KELLAYA: BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?! 

ASTER: I'LL LEAVE WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS SAFE! JUST GO!! 

She didn't know what Aster was trying to do, but she didn't have a reason to argue, nor was this the time. Reluctantly, Kellaya grabbed onto Oddish & Bulbasaur and ran out of the flaming basement. Aster looked up at Anya, still stuck on top of the machine. 

ANYA: FORGET ABOUT BEING MR. HERO, JUST GET OUT OF HERE!! 

ASTER: NOT UNTIL EVERYONE IS GONE!! THAT INCLUDES YOU!! 

ANYA: I CAN FIND MY OWN WAY OUT, I...LOOK OUT!!! 

Aster didn't notice that the Stun Spore had worn off of Blot, and now he confronted Aster up against a wall. While he was trapped between the Pokemon and the wall, many thin pieces of Blot stretched out and shaped themselves into many razor sharp knifes, inches away from Aster's neck. 

PHOS: NO MORE FOOLING AROUND!!! GIVE ME THE SNAIL, AND I'LL LET YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND GO!!! 

ANYA: (freaked out) GIRLFRIEND?!!! NOW SEE HERE!! I'LL LET YOU KEEP MY STOLEN MONEY AS LONG AS YOU REALISE THAT ME AND HIM ARE JUST FRIENDS...(she thinks for a moment)...actually, we even kind of hate each other. But the hatred is really more playful than evil. So it's not really hatred, its...hmm...I'll have to think about that... 

ASTER: (inches away from Blot killing him) Um...Anya...now's not the time. (suddenly, he gets an idea) Uh...SURE! Here you go! (he pulled out his Pokeball and released Railsnail) 

ANYA: ASTER, WHAT ARE YOU... 

ASTER: Don't worry! I have a plan! 

PHOS: FINNALY!!! NOW IT'S MINE!!! BLOT, BRING IT HERE!!! 

Blot flowed away from Aster and absorbed the confused Railsnail into him. Then... 

ASTER: RAILSNAIL, THUNDERSHOCK!!! 

Railsnail started charging up a powerful Thundershock attack inside of Blot, weakening him. Aster remembered that Blot is easily hurt by electric attacks, just like Jeeves said! (Note from Squeakgator: Hooray!)

ASTER: HA! FOILED BY YOUR OWN SHODY MERCHANDICE PHOS! 

All of a sudden, Railsnail couldn't create electricity anymore, and he stopped. 

(Note from Squeakgator: Uh oh!) 

RAILSNAIL: Rail?? 

ASTER: (scared) WHAT?!!! 

PHOS: (pleased) You mean SAVED by my own shoddy merchandise. BLOT, bring it here!! 

Although injured, Blot slowly carried Railsnail over to Phos. 

ASTER: NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! 

ANYA: (to Aster) Jeez! You are SO DUMB! Well, looks like it's up to me again. 

With that, Anya grabbed one of the loose hanging power lines beside her, and swinging down from the machine she was standing on earlier, hanging on to the power cable, she landed beside Phos. Then, she deeply impaled the power cable deep into Blot's oily body! The electricity from the cable began electrocuting Blot from the inside with hundreds of volts of electricity, until finally... 

POW!!!

Blot exploded! He caused a huge bang, shooting off globs of black ooze in every direction. Anya and Phos covered themselves. Railsnail wasn't hit by the explosion, and the electricity didn't affect him since he's a rock Pokemon, so he was OK! :) 

When Anya and Phos looked up again, they saw slimy bits of Blot all over the place. On the walls, on the ceiling...and completely covering Aster, head to toe, in black gunk. 

ANYA: (laughing) HA HA HA!!! MAN, IF YOU COULD SEE YOURSELF!!! 

ASTER: EWWW!!! Man, how am I gonna clean this...(suddenly, the gunk starts crawling down Aster's clothes and flowing across the floor. Aster's confused)...off? 

All the black pieces of Blot started to move on their own, flowed to a spot, and collected themselves in the middle of the room. 

ANYA: (shocked) NO WAY! I THOUGHT WE GOT IT! 

PHOS: YOU IDEOTS!!! NO ONE'S EVER KILLED A BLOT BEFORE!!! AND PROBABLY NO-ONE EVER WILL!!! 

From the other end of the basement, an explosion was heard. Aster and Anya obviously looked worried. But Phos looks glad! 

PHOS: I think the fires have reached the gasoline reserve tanks! In a moment, all the tanks will explode, and this whole room will be one big fireball! (he turned to Anya) And you're going to stay right here to see it you B!TCH !! (with one strong swing of his arm, he slapped Anya right in the face! She got thrown to the floor, uncontious and surrounded by flames. Aster suddenly feels extremely worried) 

ASTER: ANYA!!! 

PHOS: (to Aster) You remind me so much of someone. I don't know you well enough, but if you're anything like who I'm thinking about, you're such a great friend to everyone that you won't leave her behind. But you won't be able to carry her out of here in time, so you'll both die!! 

ASTER: (feeling hatred towards Phos) WHAT ABOUT YOU?!!! YOU CAN'T GET AWAY!!! YOU'LL DIE TO!!! 

PHOS: (grinning) No I won't. 

He wished he could beat up Phos right then and there, but Aster didn't have the time. He grabbed Railsnail and ran for the door. Suprisingly, Kellaya was waiting by the door for her brother and her friend to make it out ok. Aster threw her Railsnail and all his other Pokeballs. 

KELLAYA: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!! WHY ARE YOU TOSSING ME THESE?!!! 

ASTER: I'M GOING BACK IN FOR ANYA!!! SHE'S HURT, AND I CAN'T RISK HAVEING MY POKEMON HURT IN THE EXPLOSION!!! 

KELLAYA: NO!!! WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT!!! 

ASTER: JUST GET AS FAR AWAY FROM THIS PLACE AS YOU CAN!!! DO AS I SAY KELLAYA!!! 

Aster ran back into the flames. Reluctantly and sobbing, not knowing what else to do Kellaya ran away. 

Aster ran right to Anya, where she was still lying motionless on the floor. Aster tried to pick her up, but he was a weakling, and she was too heavy for him. Suddenly, an absolutely huge explosion was heard from the other side of the room, and when Aster looked there, all he could see was a raging wall of fire heading towards them. It was too late.

To his surprise, when he looked down at Anya, she was conscious and looking at him. 

ASTER: Anya... 

ANYA: Aster...Kellaya...Bulbasaur... 

ASTER: They're safe. They're ok. 

ANYA: I'm...sorry...for being...a jerk... 

ASTER: I'm sorry for hating you. You deserve to be a Pokemon Master. 

ANYA: Aster...I'll...miss...you. 

The two of them hugged each other as the crashing flames got closer and closer. They held on. 

ASTER: I'll miss you to. Anya. 

…

Suddenly, Aster felt some extra hands on his shoulders. He looked up and saw...Hitmonchan! 

ASTER: But...I thought...the Nightshade! 

Quickly, Hitmonchan grabbed onto both Aster and Anya, charged his Agility power which increased his speed, and pulled both of them out the door and out of the building at lightning speed! Outside, he also flew by Kellaya, Dr. Joy, and all the other Pokemon in their Pokeball's. He grabbed them all as well, and ran them as far away from the building as he could. 

In moments, with no easy way for the wall of flames to escape the Basement of the Phos Co. building, the sheer force of the blast made the building base explode, sending ashes and flames all over the streets. The building itself was structurally sound, so it didn't fall over. 

New setting: In the basement of the Phos Co. building, a few moments later. After the flames died down a little, the sprinkler system finally came on (lousy sprinklers, coming on too late! ;) ). They quenched the flames. When the fire died, Phos could be seen...Floating in midair! ON HIS OWN! And, more surprisingly, a force field ball was surrounding him, which protected him from the fires and explosions! Also, an uncontious and limp Blot was in the force field, resting up against the side of the force field sphere. When Phos turned a dial on his belt, the force field shut down, and he floated down to the ground. 

PHOS: (to himself) Well. I'm glad at least one of my products really works. (sarcastically) To bad no one else can get it. 

He grabbed his Blot, and left the room. 

New Setting: On the Northern outskirts of Saffron City, between Saffron and Route 5, at about 7:00 a.m., two days later. Aster, Anya and Kellaya have released all their Pokemon as Aster and Anya used their Pokedex's to check on them. 

JEEVES: (pointed at Bulbasaur) Bulbasaur. Male. Level 15. (pointed at Railsnail) Unknown Pokemon. Male. Level 2. (pointed at Hitmonchan) Hitmonchan. Male. Level 35. (pointed at Magikarp) Magikarp. Male. Level 7. (pointed at Tangela) Tangela. Male. Level 20. (pointed at Oddish) Oddish. Female. Level 19. 

DEXATRON: (pointed at Charmander) Charmander. Male. Level 15. (pointed at Pidgey) Pidgey. Female. level 17. (pointed at Raticade) Raticade. Male. Level 25. (pointed at Mankey) Mankey. Male. Level 22. (pointed at Goldeen) Goldeen. Female. Level 24. (pointed at Tentacruel) Tentacruel. Female. Level 32. 

ASTER: I think we should be really proud of our Pokemon. They're the real heroes. 

ANYA: (giving Hitmonchan a hug) Yeah! If Hitmonchan hadn't saved us, we could've been fried! 

KELLAYA: I'm proud of you, Tangela! You saved a lot of Pokemon! And us.

ASTER: All of you. Thanks for everything!

KELLAYA: I'm just glad Doctor Joy came to the building and brought supplies. She revived Hitmonchan just in time so he could get you two! 

ASTER: (hugs Bulbasaur) I'm just glad that you're ok. What would I do without you?

BULBASAUR: (friendly & hugging) Bulbasaur. 

ASTER: I'm happy you're ok. That you're all ok! (pause) That all Pokemon will be ok. 

ANYA: I can't believe Phos can't be convicted. How could his men clean up all of the evidence so fast? And how did the jackass even survive?!

KELLAYA: People with money can do anything. (pause) Except, of course, win. 

ASTER: One day, we'll stop him! We can do it! I know we can! 

The kids start heading North on Route 5. Anya held Goldeen in her arms. Kellaya held Oddish in her arms and had Tangela on her shoulders, giving her a piggyback ride. Aster carried Magikarp in his backpack as he held Bulbasaur up on his shoulder. And finally, Bulbasaur, with his vines, carried Railsnail on his back, in a playful piggyback. All the other Pokemon walked along side the trainers. This was not the time to be in Pokeballs. They all wanted to be together, on this victorious morning.

ASTER: (to Anya) Thanks. 

ANYA: For what? 

ASTER: For what you said in the basement. 

ANYA: I didn't say anything! I was uncontious! 

ASTER: Not all the time. You apologized! 

ANYA: (annoyed) FOR WHAT? I have nothing to apologize for, especially to the likes of you! 

ASTER: (annoyed) YOU APOLOGISED FOR BEING SO SELF CENTERED! 

KELLAYA: (annoyed) Stop fighting. 

ANYA: I remember nothing of the sort! You must have been delusional! 

ASTER: I'M delusional?! You can't remember anything! 

ANYA: I remember something about you calling me a great trainer. 

ASTER: I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DIE! I WAS TRYING TO BE NICE! BUT AS A MATTER OF FACT, YOU SUCK! 

KELLAYA: (annoyed) Please stop fighting. 

ANYA: YOU JERK!!! 

ASTER: YOU'RE THE JERK!!! 

KELLAYA: (annoyed) I can't believe how you don't stop fighting.

And, as usual, our three heroes continued on their Pokemon journey, the way they always did, and go on their way to dreams and adventure. 

To be continued...in story #7! Coming Soon!

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